Global Earth Observation – a new tool for sustainable development

Global Earth Observation, which provides a comprehensive overview of what is
happening in the environment, offers important benefits in a wide range of areas.
For example, in agriculture it can help agri-business boost yields by spotting where
fertiliser needs to be applied. Now the GEO-BENE (Global Earth Observation –
Benefit Estimation: Now, Next and Emerging) project is carrying out the world’s first
systematic study of the benefits of Global Earth Observation.

GEO-BENE brings together 12 partners from 5 EU countries plus
Switzerland, South Africa and Japan with the aim of developing methods
and tools designed to clarify the economic and social benefits of
Global Earth Observation. From this, policies can be defined to support
the implementation of international agreements on sustainable
development in a range of fields.

Getting the better of the weather

Even with current technology, we still cannot provide completely
accurate weather forecasts, and every year many people die and vast
amounts of money are spent as a result. Being able to provide reliable
weather forecasts would be a huge advantage for almost every
European industry. GEO-BENE researchers have investigated the
impact of climate change on weather and crop yields in the future,
and developed a tool to quantify the value of weather-related satellite
information.

Cherishing biodiversity

Global Earth Observation is also a useful tool to survey biodiversity
and protect our ecosystems. Ecosystems form the basis of life on
Earth; they provide us with food, air, water and energy. But they have
been under threat for a number of years from pollution, climate
change and intensive agricultural methods. Global Earth Observation
can give us state-of-the-art information about the current condition
of ecosystems around the world in order to promote
sustainability and good resource management.

GEO-BENE has focused on the creation of a comprehensive observation
system for biodiversity that can be used by natural resource
planners, governments, scientists and researchers. Extensive data
on biodiversity factors is not widely available in many developing
countries, yet these nations are home to most of the world’s unprotected
biodiversity.

GEO-BENE research in South Africa revealed that poor quality data
often led decision makers to overestimate the amount of land needed
for conservation areas. Managing this extra land for conservation
purposes costs a lot of money. Therefore, investing in the gathering
of high quality data will help to make the establishment and management
of conservation areas more cost effective and free up more
land for other uses.

A secure food supply

In the area of agriculture, GEO-BENE’s aim is to have a global land
use and food distribution information service that can enable sustainable
development through wise planning of land resources. For
example, research so far has shown that the planned biofuels programmes
of Europe, the US, Brazil, China and India may cost billions
of euros more than anticipated.

Project results have also shown the benefits of using Global Earth
Observation to identify geographic centres of malnutrition to efficiently
plan aid operations. Other results from the project include
the establishment of a database for global data modelling, the creation
of an EPIC model (a system that can simulate agricultural
ecosystem processes), an analyses of global nitrogen levels in cropland
and a study of the impact of climate change on food production
and agricultural water use around the world.

Energy and water: balancing supply and demand

Energy is vital to our day-to-day lives – in the food we cook, the work
we do, our homes and our transport systems. It is also responsible
for much of the world’s current high pollution levels. GEO-BENE
found that more certainty about climate sensitivity through the
acquisition of better Global Earth Observation data will lead to better
informed climate change and energy policies and more stable
CO2 prices. Under these conditions, energy producers’ profits would
be expected to rise, while CO2 emissions are likely to fall.

Water conservation is becoming more and more important as a result
of global warming and desertification in certain parts of the world.
The EU needs clear water conservation and water resource management
policies. GEO-BENE surveys have highlighted areas of emerging
water scarcity and availability using remote sensing information. This
technique increases the availability of water quality information such
as early warnings of water shortages.

Limiting damage from disasters

The project is also studying a range of natural and man-made hazards
such as forest fires and earthquakes to help develop better
disaster management policies.

In the health field, GEO-BENE is investigating how Global Earth
Observation information on factors such as climate and weather could
help health systems detect disease epidemics early on. Global Earth
Observation data could then be used to plan vaccination programmes,
if necessary. Another GEO-BENE study is looking at whether the season
and weather affect the risk of a patient dying from acute
myocardial infarction.

Putting Global Earth Observation in the spotlight

GEO-BENE has had a high public impact with articles in journals such
as Nature and Science. Working with the Group on Earth Observation
(GEO), it has had a direct impact on government policies, such as the
UK’s Gallagher Review on Biofuels, and on World Bank strategies and
financing. Special focus has also been put on policy processes under
the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
(UNFCCC).

Thanks to GEO-BENE’s work, the usefulness of Global Earth
Observation benefit assessment is now widely recognised, paving
the way for its application in diverse situations around the world.